Barclays in aggressive campaign to win clients

At the same time it has also has slashed its retention mortgage rates by 0.5 per cent to keep its existing customers on its books. The lender is offering its fixed and tracker customers who have three months of their mortgage term remaining a fee-free two-year fixed rate at 2.79 per cent up to 95 per cent LTV and a fee-free five-year fixed rate at 3.49 per cent up to 95 per cent LTV in order to retain their business.

These rates are changed month-by-month and have been cut from 3.19 per cent for the two-year product and 3.99 per cent for the five-year product, both of which were on offer to customers last month.

Lentune Mortgage Consultancy director Stuart Gregory says: “These retention rates are fantastic. For a borrower to be able to secure a rate like this for five years would be phenomenal. Other lenders could learn a lot from this, it shows Barclays really wants to hold onto and help its customers.”

Barclays has also reduced its three-year fixed rate NewBuy mortgage by 0.2 per cent, from 5.69 per cent to 5.49 per cent, and has cut its two-year fixed Great Escape remortgage product, which is available up to 70 per cent LTV, by 0.25 per cent from 3.74 per cent to 3.49 per cent to sweep up customers affected by recent SVR increases.

It has also cut a selection of two, four and five-year fixed rates by up to 0.3 per cent between 70 per cent and 90 per cent LTV, with rates now starting at 3.09 per cent for a 70 per cent LTV two-year fixed.

Barclays’ head of mortgages Andy Gray says the lender cut its rates in order to attract customers with other lenders who have been told their SVR is to increase.

Last month, Santander said it would increase its SVR from 4.24 per cent to 4.74 per cent from 3 October. Since May, ING Direct, Bank of Ireland, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, Co-operative Bank, Halifax and Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest all increased their SVRs. In total, it is estimated around 1.2 million customers will be affected by these SVR increases.

Gray says: “With the recent changes in SVRs, there is an opportunity to re-stimulate the remortgage market and save people money at a time when they need it most. This is why we have made these cuts.

“We have decided to take advantage of what are better funding conditions now, with the launch of the Funding for Lending scheme.”